There are 74 new Covid-19 cases in the community on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health has announced.
The cases are in Auckland (56), Waikato (9), Bay of Plenty (7), Lakes (1) and Canterbury (1).
There are also 15 cases in the Taranaki township of Eltham which will be included in Thursday's numbers.
The ministry said the majority of the cases were pupils at a local school, which is now closed for the summer break.
It is believed the cases are all linked to an Eltham case announced on Sunday.
There is also one death to report, a patient with the virus at Tauranga Hospital.
"Our thoughts are with the patient’s whānau and friends at this deeply sad time," the ministry said.
The death brings New Zealand's Covid-19 death toll to 47.
Sixty-one people are in hospital with the virus, including four in intensive care or a high dependency unit.
The case in Canterbury included in Wednesday's numbers was announced on Tuesday.
Waikato's nine new cases are in Te Kūiti (5) and Hamilton (4). Their links to previous cases are being investigated.
The Bay of Plenty's seven new cases are all in Tauranga. Four have been linked to previously reported cases, with the remainder under investigation.
The fresh case in the Lakes DHB area is in Rotorua.
The ministry said the number of community Covid-19 cases in Auckland had decreased for the third consecutive week, with 22 per cent fewer cases than the week before.
It said the decline is mirrored across all three of Auckland's DHBs.
This news comes as Counties Manukau DHB reached 90 per cent fully vaccinated.
Auckland DHB and Waitematā DHB had already hit the milestone and are at 95 per cent and 92 per cent fully vaccinated, respectively.
Six DHBs in total are now 90 per cent fully vaccinated, with Midcentral, Wairarapa, Nelson-Marlborough and South Canterbury DHBs nearing the target.
"We are 7417 doses away from being nationally 90 per cent fully vaccinated, which we expect to achieve in the next day or two," the ministry said.
The ministry also said about 5000 people were getting a week-long exemption while their requests for a My Vaccine Pass are processed.
Meanwhile, 20,000 people vaccinated overseas will get an extension to January 17 while their vaccinations are verified.
On Tuesday, 80 community cases were announced.
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